THE LOOKING GLASS - Kamala Das Poems

THE LOOKING GLASSGetting a man to love you is easyOnly be honest about your wants asWoman. Stand nude before the glass with himSo that he sees himself the stronger oneAnd believes it so, and you so much moreSofter, younger, lovelier. Admit yourAdmiration. Notice the perfectionOf his limbs, his eyes reddening underThe shower, the shy walk across the bathroom floor,Dropping towels, and the jerky way heUrinates. All the fond details that makeHim male and your only man. Gift him all,Gift him what makes you woman, the scent ofLong hair, the musk of sweat between the breasts,The warm shock of menstrual blood, and all yourEndless female hungers. Oh yes, gettingA man to love is easy, but livingWithout him afterwards may have to beFaced. A living without life when you moveAround, meeting strangers, with your eyes thatGave up their search, with ears that hear onlyHis last voice calling out your name and yourBody which once under his touch had gleamedLike burnished brass, now drab and destitute.